The Day After
by Lauren Wagner
Summary: Lightning Squad has failed to defeat Excalibur


Foreword: Me love Lightning Squad Kurt!  
  
When Kurt opened his eyes, he almost started to wonder when he had gone to bed. Then he remembered what had taken place and he closed his eyes slowly, a moan escaping his lips.  
  
They had been sent back to their own world after the Nightcrawler of Earth 616 had beaten him. He remembered the rage on his commander's face as he turned on Kitty and started to blame her for their failure. He had stepped between them and claimed that it was entirely his fault that they had lost, and that all punishment should fall on his shoulders and not the Jew's.  
  
Then everything went black after a club smashed down on the side of his face.  
  
He tried to sit up, but his back protested and he let out a faint cry of pain as he slowly sank back down onto his bed. A wet cloth touched his brow and he flinched, turning his head a bit too quickly for his own good.  
  
"How do you feel?" Kitty was sitting beside him, holding the cloth on his brow, her face a picture of worry. "Does your back still hurt?"  
  
"Only when I tried to sit up." He admitted, trying to give her a smile of assurance. It suddenly faded away and he became worried. "Did he..?"  
  
Kitty slowly shook her head, smiling weakly. "No, he let all his frustrations out on you." She answered. She tilted her head to one side and shook it. "Why did you take all the blame?" she asked.  
  
"I didn't want to see you get hurt. Besides, it was my fault that we lost to Excalibur." Kurt said, shrugging very faintly. His tail flopped lazily beside him. "Besides, now I get a little time off from protecting Hitler." He added with a smile.  
  
Kitty laughed softly, shaking her head. "Are you hungry, Elf?" she asked.  
  
He bared his fangs at her playfully. "I'm starving!" he admitted.  
  
"Meggan cooked this up while her husband was sleeping." Kitty said, slowly picking up a bowl of broth from the table beside her. Slipping a hand under his head, she slowly helped him sit up with as little pain as possible. "Better?"  
  
"Much."  
  
She dipped a spoon into the bowl and she carefully guided it to Kurt's mouth. They went like that for a half hour; Kurt accepting each spoonful of broth, and Kitty giving it to him, pausing when she had to wipe a bit off his chin.  
  
Kurt chuckled softly as she dabbed at the side of his mouth. "I feel like a small child."  
  
"And I feel like a nineteen year old mother! Wait, I AM a nineteen year old mother!" Kitty laughed softly, shaking her head. "And you my friend, are my twenty seven year old baby!"  
  
"Now how did that happen?" Kurt laughed, his tail curling up a bit. He laughed softly and he looked at Kitty, his eyes going to the brand on the brow and he winced.  
  
"Does something hurt?" Kitty asked, setting the bowl down.  
  
Kurt shook his head slowly, his eyes still looking at the brand. "Why are you nice to me?" he asked suddenly.  
  
Kitty laughed at the question, shaking her head to show it was obvious. "Because you were kind to me when I was taken."  
  
"But I let your parents get killed." He pointed out.  
  
"But you gave me chocolate and helped me keep my purity longer." Kitty countered. She tilted her head to one side and looked Kurt over. "What is the matter?" she asked.  
  
"Do you remember when I got away from Excalibur?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, you went to get help."  
  
"Not at first." He admitted, his cheeks turning violet. "I first wanted to just get as far away as possible and stay there." He looked around his room, his voice becoming soft. "Can you imagine it? A world where Hitler and the Third Reich actually lost! Your people not having to be shot or killed!"  
  
"It does sound like a wonderful place." Kitty agreed.  
  
"And I was going to stay there, leaving you to stay here with him!" Kurt said in self-disgust. He looked away. "I was thinking cowardly thoughts."  
  
Shaking her head, Kitty gently cupped his chin in one hand and she turned it so that he was facing her. "You can never have cowardly thoughts, Kurt Wagner of the Romani! Maybe you had an urge to stay there, and who would blame you? If I could, I would have stayed there and maybe joined my twin Shadowcat. She seemed nice didn't she?"  
  
"Yes, she and my twin seemed like close friends." Kurt admitted.  
  
Smiling playfully, Kitty took Kurt's strip of hair and twirled it. "I liked your twin's hair. I think you should grow it like that instead of this cow lick you have!" Laughing, Kurt batted her hand away with his tail.  
  
"I am tempted to do just that! But a think our fearless leader would be furious if I did." He said. Shrugging, Kitty sat back and tilted her head to one side, looking at Kurt fondly.  
  
"I think we'll find a way to go back to Earth 616 someday." She said. "And when we do, we can stay there and I can grow my hair again."  
  
"I would like that." Kurt said, remembering her long chestnut curls.  
  
"And maybe we could join Excalibur!" she said.  
  
"Now hold on one minute. What makes you think they'll let us join huh?"  
  
Kitty shrugged, smiling still. "Because your twin is their leader. I don't think he'll throw us out."  
  
"He might throw me out." Kurt snorted.  
  
"Not if I ask me not to! When we go, we'll get rid of all our old things! All the swastikas and our old uniforms and we'll buy the clothes from that world! Then, we can save people worth saving!"  
  
"You say this like this may actually happen."  
  
Kitty smiled, placing a hand on Kurt's cheek gently.  
  
"A girl can dream can't she?"  
  
"Yes, I suppose she can. And pray too if she so wishes." Kurt nodded faintly, smiling kindly at his friend.  
  
Maybe just maybe they would be able to go back. 


End file.
